The MMA Daily

We have a clash in the Heavyweight division, as Augusto Sakai takes on Serghei Spivac. A loser of three straight fights, Sakai finds himself in a precarious position. One in which Sakai has never faced, as prior to the losing streak, he had only lost once in seventeen fights. Still ranked fourteenth despite the skid, Sakai remains in a position to warrant a ranked fighter with a victory here. Meanwhile, Spivac comes into this fight off a TKO victory over Greg Hardy. The win was the Moldovans fourth in the past four fights. Certainly earning this top fifteen opponent, Spivac has a great opportunity to re-introduce himself as one of the top Heavyweight’s with a victory.

This should be an intriguing fight, as both men have differing styles. Sakai is a striker, who brings forth a blend of volume and power. Landing 5.04 significant strikes per minute, Sakai is among the most active Heavyweight’s on the roster. With cardio to back up his work-rate, Sakai is not someone you want to battle for fifteen minutes. However, and I’ve always said Sakai had good durability, in his last three fights, he’s been finished. Perhaps the wear and tear of mixed martial arts has caught up or the fact that he fights hardest hitting division is the culprit. Either way, Spivac isn’t someone likely to test that chin. While he can strike and has some pop, Spivac has done his best work on the ground. Landing three takedowns or more in four of the past seven fights, Spivac is an imposing force on the mat. With good grappling, Spivac often puts himself in a good position to land ground-and-pound or pry for a submission. With twelve of his fourteen wins coming inside the distance, Spivac isn’t someone who let’s the judges decide his fate.

In what should be a good fight, I’m going to side with Spivac. While Sakai may have the edge on the feet, Spivac should be able to get this fight to the mat at some point. Especially considering Sakai has only been able to thwart off two of the six takedown attempts against him. In other words, a 33% takedown defense isn’t going to cut it in this fight. So with that said, I predict that Spivac will get this fight to the mat and win via TKO.